Polybius - The Watcher II

[Zardoz]

February 19th, 2021

There was a lot more notes to go through than anticipated from last night and I tried to theorize who this Watcher truly was. I don't think I'll be getting the rest of my unfinished work back from The Hive anytime soon. What I can say for certain though is that I am a great deal further as to closing in on who he is or rather was. Yet the more answers I find, the more questions arise as to how and why? Each time I take a step forward, there is always five steps back through either what could be The Watcher's doing or through someone else. Soon I was about to learn the true meaning of going back and forth like a discarded yoyo long past any joy it could bring to a world without a future generation.

On the early morning of today when the town tried to desperately mimic a shadow of its old life, I noticed something that never quite caught my eye before. A large terminal building on the outskirts of town although still well within its confines. Someone or something had broke through an impromptu barricade set up. I always found it odd how the town remained filled with alien wildlife and zombies, but hardly any non-zombified bodies remained. That was answered quite promptly with the room of the barricaded terminal building lined with body bags and draped over corpses- possibly dating back half a decade although I am no physician. They tried with what little they had to operate on any wounded judging by the makeshift operating table and used surgical tools.

Nothing was really left apart from a half bloodied roll of gauze and a packet of quick-clot. Upstairs was far worse, to describe it would not even do it remotely any justice. I could say without exaggeration that the entire town was in that large room, rotting away. No gunshots or bullet wounds to be found- this is not out of the Combine's usual playbook. Each cadaver was set out twisted and broken, horrified pained expressions remained on their faces from what looks to be an exceedingly violent death. Huge slashes and tearing only meant something beyond a man did this. If it were a strider I'm not sure the building would remain standing, and if it were a hunter- there'd at least be traces of the flechette explosions.

To ascribe this all to The Watcher would be wrong, I don't think he was capable of doing this. But he had been around The Hive for a while by the looks of things and must have known what had went down here. Now it was even more urgent for me to find this man or thing, maybe somewhere in my mind I wanted to believe he did this so I could pin a culprit and attain some justice for the deceased. However that would have been too straightforward. All I knew is that something had to be done. I returned to my study, trying to fit the pieces together. I did not want to alarm the rest of the town but I presume they had also known about the bodies. After all, nobody could miss that, right?

It was at this time that a meeting was taken place in the middle of the settlement, others had gathered around to decide on the vote for a leader. Our two runners up was a prisoner from the Worksite 14, James and a former Rural Protection Force guard, Faith. She was allegedly a former elite unit and as for James, he was the most well equipped fighter around and somewhat competent with a rifle. It was all decided by a vote on the spot and they recognized that while many in the camp weren't so fond of a leader, big decisions had to be made. Speaking with the two who knew Karol quite well, they never wanted to be viewed or treat as one, yet for all practical purposes he was one. I could see it in their eyes and how fondly they spoke of him. Now it would be the test for Faith and James to live up to Karol's legacy, and they decided we should head to a nearby camp to investigate.

It was on our journey there that I swore I saw something in the distance? Was it the Watcher or someone else? A man I met along the way, Ramos, reminded me that it could have been a mirage on account of dehydration, although I drank like a fish yesterday. Nevertheless, once we got inside this compound it went deep underground. I had went out to look for such a figure on account of another man and woman who claimed it was the 'Watcher' - she said she had met him but told me not to be so suspicious. Quite frankly I disagreed. When an unknown stranger has been stalking the town and leaving threatening notes referring to us all as vermin, then it is a cause for concern. Especially out here in the middle of no where when anyone and everyone could be a potential risk to one's safety and wellbeing. Some time had passed and well, even with her laissez-faire attitude, I was convinced to press on into the compound.

It turns out The Watcher was far closer than I realised. The compound was a large pre-war bunker of some kind repurposed by the Combine's Infestation Control teams, having set up a forcefield as well as containment bulkhead doors. This figure finally spoke, for a moment I knew by the cadence that matched the tone in his letters, it was indeed The Watcher. He had control of this facility, cameras, doors, intercom speakers, and the ventilation shafts included. He made several threats but arranged a deal with us to retrieve a car battery and intact radio equipment. This extremely illusive Watcher was rather direct in what he wanted and offered to let bygones be bygones, extremely angered by our presence. If I had known what the rest of the survivors of Worksite 14 were about to do I would have held a similar attitude. Our mission was clear from that point, to retrieve the batteries and radios from another camp.

For the sake of brevity, we returned with the supplies. It was more trouble than what it was worth but hopefully it bought us answers, and for the less discerning- more bullets and toys to shoot. I had a chance to have a one on one 'exchange' if you could call it that, with The Watcher through the intercom alone or so I thought. I asked him who he was, he answered by stating the obvious. The only real substantial information was when someone earlier had asked them if they belonged to Infestation Control which they replied in the affirmative. I did know that he was a man by his own admission, but he did not justify why he wrote the threatening letter. He called us all vermin and wanted us gone, but now he wants our help? I didn't understand him and I think that was the Watcher's game. Eventually I grew tired and called him for what he was, a paranoid hermit living in a bunker threatening and killing anyone who stood before them.

The display was so entertaining for him that he began activating the vents with toxic gases, and I immediately began wearing my backup plan with the few air filters I had. The Watcher asked my name as I fixed the visor and nozzle on, breathing in the scarce oxygen I had while the halls flooded in a sickly green haze. I answered simply that I was Alexander. I could not remember too much after that, coughing and spluttering for the remaining air to save me. Mockingly he referred to me as the 'great' but I hardly found much connection. Then somehow after that I managed to escape his labyrinth of doom in that bunker of his with Ramos waiting for me. Understandably he was confused as was I, but he wanted to ensure nobody else died. I guess when Karol, their 'leader' passed, you would be a bit more forgiving with the living. One thing was sure, The Watcher certainly wasn't.

At the exit with the steps, the forcefield barrier suddenly activated behind us - locking us out his abode for good. I then got to witness the man 'face to face' and in all truth, was increasingly unnerved at how quickly he managed to arrive. The mask he wore all but confirmed he was one of the Infestation Control's personnel, a black mask- possibly modified or denoting a higher rank? He knew what went down at that Town for sure, but I hadn't thought to ask him until Ramos and I both mutually agreed it was best to get out of there.

When we returned to the town I showed Ramos everything I had found that morning. He vomited up as much as I did and finally knew why it was essential to get to the bottom of this. Yet as we stepped out, a blazing inferno had taken place, we were interrupted by a large bang. The foreign growths of alien fungi had been set ablaze, and along with that, the whole Hive itself and buildings included. Any evidence we had of this mass grave was getting consumed quickly and we had to go. Was this The Watcher's doing? We knew the fighters were involved, one of them angrily tried to justify setting the whole town ablaze. Either way we looked at it, The Watcher still held the answers in his card deck of tricks, and he was holding them close to his chest.

I don't think I'll have enough ink or pages left by the end of this.

 

[Vecilea]

Bro this is amazing.